Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) is close to making his long-awaited return at left-back for the hosts, having not kicked a ball since September, but this match may come too soon for him. Younes Kaboul (knee) will not be available until February.

The controversial booking collected by Gareth Bale against Sunderland on Saturday was his fifth of the season and rules him out of this match so Clint Dempsey could come in on the left flank.

For Brian McDermott's side, striker Jason Roberts (thigh) is a doubt while goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (shoulder) is likely to be a season-long absentee. Pavel Pogrebnyak should continue in attack after he scored the winning goal against West Ham.

DID YOU KNOW?

So far this season Tottenham have managed just 63 per cent of the goals at home (14) that they have accumulated away from White Hart Lane (22).

Andre Villas-Boas already has two more points than he had with Chelsea last year following the New Year's Day fixtures.